Fuel and air supply for internal-combustion engines



Jan. 30, 1945. J. P. M. VAN DIETZ 2,368,180

FUEL AND AIR SUPPLY FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Nov. 18, 194? Inventor: 'Jh'n Paul Ma -inns ViznDiet5 flttorneys Patented Jan. 30, 1945 FUELAND' AIR SUPPLY FOR INTERNAL- COMBUSTION ENGINES John Paul Marinus Van Dietz, Ipsden, Oxon, England Application November 18, 1942, Serial No. 465,978 In Great Britain November 5, 1941 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the supply of air-fuel mixture to internal combustion engines and has for its object to provide improved means whereby a larger proportion of fuel is vapourised than obtained with the-ordinary carburettors now in use.

Many proposals with this object in view have previously been made. These have included electric heating elements through which the inlet air passes and similar elements arranged in the carburettor itself, in some cases electric heaters have been proposed for supplementary air introduced between the carburetor and the engine.

In accordance with this invention I provide an electric heating element between the carburettor and the engine through which supplementary air is drawn and which joins the fuel-air mixture in a heated condition thus vapourising liquid drops of fuel which are in the mixture.

The heating element of the present invention is housed in a container lined with lagging material having an air inlet at one end, a valvecontrolled nozzle at the other and a tube which connects the nozzle to the engine manifold or to the flange commonly provided between the carburettor and the engine.

The heating element may be controlled by a switch on the dashboard of a motor car to which the device is fitted and this switch ma be controlled by a thermostat to cut out when the engine becomes warm or may be coupled up to the choke-operating device so that the element is heated if this device is pulled out, no novelty is claimed for these constructions per se.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates the invention in a diagrammatic manner,

Fig. 1 shows a heating element surrounding an air passage connected to the inlet manifold of an internal combustion engine,

Fig. 2 shows an electrical circuit for throwing out the switch leading to the heating element by a thermostat arranged in the inlet manifold.

Referrin to the drawing a metal heating coil 3 is housed in a container I which is lined with lagging material 2.

This wire is heated by current coming from lead 6, 1 connected to terminals 5, 6. The container has an opening through which air enters;

the other end has a nozzle 20 and control valve 8 and is connected by a flexible tube 9 to a short pipe IEI entering the engine manifold II.

When the valve 8 is open the suction in the manifold II will cause air to enter the opening I9 and become heated by the coil 3 so that heated air, supplementary to that passing through the engine carburettor, passes into the manifold and increases the efficiency of the fuel by vapourising small drop which have passed the carburettor.

The heating of the coil 2 may be cut out by means of an electric thermostat I5, Fig. 2, passing into the engine manifold I I.

A switch I4 on the dashboard I3 of the engine controls supply of electricity from a battery I2. A supplementary lead 2| passes to the electrostat I5 and a lead I! passes to a solenoid I6 from which a lead I8 passes back to the battery I2.

When the temperature in the manifold reaches a pre-determined amount current is allowed to pass from the lead 2| and through the lead I1 and solenoid I6; the magnetic core of the solenoid then pulls the switch M out of contact, so that the supply of current to the container I is broken until the switch I4 is again closed.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for introducing electrically heated supplementary air into the fuel and air mixture inlet passages of an .internal combustion connects the nozzle to the engine manifold or to the flange commonly provided between the carburetor and the engine.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 in which the heating element is controlled by a switch which is thrown into circuit by pulling out the chokeoperating device of the engine.

JOHN PAUL MARINUS VAN DIETZ. 

